| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Time to reconsider the west london tram scheme | |
| Posted by: | Andy Jones | |
| Date/Time: | 08/08/10 21:01:00 |
| "Why else did the professionally conducted telephone surveys always record more support for the tram than the paper consultation?" The Liberal Democrats managed to get further details of how these telephone polls were conducted and they showed two things. Firstly the majority of people called were not residents along the route therefore had little knowledge of practicalities of the scheme. If you called up a random sample of the UK population and asked do you think any public transport scheme is a good idea chances are 90% would say yes. Secondly the questioning used was very leading and tended to prompt positive answers about the scheme which was what TfL intended. The telephone poll was hardly a ringing endorsement in any case and widely dismissed at the time. I'm surprised to hear anybody raising it as a justification of an argument for widespread local support for the tram as the clearest indication of the vast majority of people not wanting it was given in the local election of 2006. The Labour party members that I speak to will quite candidly admit support for the tram cost them the election. It was something that even they felt was being forced on them and so it didn't even enjoy strong support in the party that was backing it. |